Issue Archive

NASA Uses Futuristic Technology to Build New Rockets

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in
Alabama is using selective laser melting
(SLM) to create intricate metal parts for
the next heavy-lift rocket, the Space
Launch System (SLS).

SLM is similar to 3D printing, and is the
future of manufacturing. The machine
takes metal powder and uses a highenergy
laser to melt it in a designed pattern.
The laser will layer the melted dust
to fuse whatever part is needed from the
ground up, creating intricate designs. The
process produces parts with complex
geometries and precise mechanical properties
from a 3D computer-aided design. Some of the “printed” engine parts will be structurally
tested and used in hot-fire tests of a J-2X engine, which will be used as the upper
stage engine for the SLS.

Visit www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/selective_melting.html for more information.
Watch a video of the SLM machine in action on Tech Briefs TV at www.techbriefs.
com/tv/SLM.

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